Employee Engagement Caroline Anderson London Borough of Hackney Hackney – A Complex History

• 2001 serious financial and managerial difficulties • £50m deficit • Government intervention – Section.114 • Education Services externalised • Non-discrimination notice (420 ETs) • Difficult relationship with TU’s • Single status ET • Police intervention Hackney has transformed itself and The Borough

- One of the fastest improving Authorities in the country
- Improvement in 81% of key PIs in the last 2 years
- Residents satisfaction 60% - 70% (double to London average)
- Council tax frozen for 5 years
- Top 3 savers nationally
- Investment in regeneration

Crucial to our success is the positive relationship we have with our staff 2009 Staff Survey Results

Ipsos Mori 2009 revealed above average in over 20 employee engagement indicators

- Advocacy of the Council (+24 points higher)
- Feeling informed (+24)
- Belief that Management has clear vision (+21)
- Pride in working for the Council (+21)
- Feeling valued (+17)
- Believe the organisation looks after its employees (+9)
- Job satisfaction (+6) Staff Survey cont..

“The Council receives better ratings from its staff than any other public sector employer we work with”

Simon Atkinson, Ipsos Mori, Mar 2009 Putting in the building blocks

- Leadership

- Vision and clarity

- Effective partnerships (internal & external)

- Financial management and stability

- Performance management framework

- Commitment to learning and development

- Investment in the workforce Awards

- Charter Mark

- Investor in People

- Stonewall Top 100 Employers 2010

- Beacon Partner 2009-2010

- Equality Framework for Local Government Achieving

- 10:10

- LGO Awards 2010 Winner

- socitm

- Hackney Service First Programme an organisational change programme

Aim:

• Improve and extend access to Council Services • Reduce our property portfolio and associated costs • Implementation of consistent and excellent levels of customer service Service First Programme

Involved:

• Construction of two new buildings (1,600 staff) • Co-location of all front facing services • Development of single front office (integration of 40 services) • Implementation of consistent and excellent levels of customer service • Introduction of New Ways of Working (home, mobile, shared space)

- supported by enabling technology (CDM, CRM etc) Challenges

- 1,600 staff, 75 decants

- Development of new service configuration

- Blending and creating new teams

- New skills and competencies

- New ways of working (processes and systems)

- Programme interdependence

- Engagement and communications

- Proactively managing emotional impact

- Timescale of 24 months New customer service centre, bringing services together Service First Framework

- Open Plan

- 8 – 10 Desk share

- Enabling Technology

- Integrated Service Provision Service First OD Framework

Objectives:

• Proactive and visible leadership • Transfer of ownership and responsibility • Effective project and programme management • Effective communication – engagement • Supporting processes and systems • Developing new skills and competencies Managing the process

Service First Board Chaired by Mayor

Chief Officer Board Chaired by Chief Executive Department Leads

Infrastructure programme Construction, ICT, FM & Decant

Business transformation programme Service Review, NWoW Consultation, L&D, TU Liaison

Change Champions for each directorate

Service First coordinators for each team Distributed decision making Engagement Activities

- Comprehensive, varied and flexible
- Hard and soft skills
- Mandatory and options – 300 interventions delivered
- Face to face interaction
- Preparation and support for move
- Supporting communication (web, toolsets etc)
- Workshops and training sessions
- Tailored interventions to meet staff needs
  - planning and preparation
  - implementation
  - embedding and support • Project delivered on time and on budget • Funded internally • Management of all work streams delivered in house. • The whole organisation able to take pride in the achievement ......So what’s next?

A period which is at least as challenging as 2001 • Financial and organisational uncertainty • Reduction in public sector funding • Fundamental review of what and how we deliver services • Impact on the way we organise and manage staff Leading to an organisation

Which is, Customer focussed, efficient and high performing but with a smaller, well managed and well motivated workforce. The ‘New Hackney’

Is expected to be characterised by:- • Increased centralisation and integration of processes/functions • A mixture of service delivery models, representing best practice • Quicker, more flexible and more efficient processes • Flatter organisational structures, with wider spans of control The ‘New Hackney’ cont…

• Devolved decision-making to reduce bureaucracy • Greater use of generic roles • Career paths attached to generic working • Increased use of electronic solutions • Minimum standards in key skills “Delivering the Vision”

Will test the relationships between employers and staff.

• Will require a reframing of the relationship with staff and their representatives. Best Use of Resources (BUoR)

Overarching efficiency programme

- Cabinet
- HMT
  - BUoR Delivery Board
  - OD & Cultural Change Board Work programme to deliver the HR & OD

| HR Policy & Procedures | Changing Structures | Capacity & Skills | Supporting Arrangements | Linked Activities | |------------------------|---------------------|-------------------|-------------------------|------------------| | - Restructuring | - Restructure of | - Managers | - BUoR/HR Ops Team | - Refresh Council's | | - Redundancy | Senior Management | Framework | - Recruitment Team | Constitution | | - TUPE | Team | - Service Review | (Redeployment/ | - Financial | | - Redeployment | - Pay & Grading | Methodology | Assessment/ | Regulation | | - Contract Terms & | Review | - Competency | Outplacement) | - Procurement | | Conditions | - Creation of Job | Framework | | - Scheme of | | - Code of Conduct | Families, Generic | - Workforce L&D | | Delegation | | | Roles | Plan | | - Performance | | | - HR System Review | | | Framework | | | - Framework for | | | (Appraisals/ | | | Relations with | | | Code of Conduct) | | | Trade Unions | | | |

Communication & Engagement Maintaining Staff Engagement

As we enter into this period of change and transition, we need more than ever to protect and nurture the unique relationships we have with our employees by:

• Being honest • Transparent in our decision making • Involving them where possible • Communicating with them consistently and regularly • Providing effective and speedy processes • Support mechanism for people who stay and those who go. We think our staff are unique They care about Hackney

They care about: • The Council • The Borough • The services they provide And • each other This will stand us in good stead as we move into this next chapter in the Hackney story.